Auston Mattews Signed Three-Year Partnership with Bet99

A ground-breaking deal between an active National Hockey League (NHL) player and an online gambling brand has been signed in Canada, SportsHandle reported.

Promoting Free-to-Play Services

Toronto Maple Leaves center and alternate captain Auston Matthews signed a partnership agreement with Bet99, an online betting and gaming operator that is yet to get licensed for sports betting operations in Ontario, Canada, to promote the brand’s free-to-play website, Bet99.net. Ontario is set to launch regulated online casino gaming in April this year.

The online gaming brand is licensed by the tribal authority of Quebec, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, as well as the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), and is not clear whether applications for sports betting and iGaming licenses have been filed with the province’s regulators, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario.

Matthews, a promising ice hockey star who has started on the high with the Maple Leaves having scored over 30 goals in his first five seasons with the NHL outfit and is currently on the path of surpassing the 50-goal threshold for the first time in his career, is believed to have signed a three-year contract with Bet99.

“I am proud to announce my partnership with Bet99.net and am excited to explore and develop opportunities in this space alongside their team,” Matthews commented on his Twitter profile.

NHL Players Able to Pursue Sportsbook Opportunities

Matthews’ partnership with Bet99 was made possible due to the deal signed between the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the NHL in October that allowed players to pursue advertising and promotional opportunities with sportsbooks.

Unlike Canadian Ultimate Fighting Championship star George St-Pierre who is also an ambassador of the Bet99 brand, promoting its real-money gambling services, Matthews will be promoting the free-to-play website of the brand.

Bet99 also has partnerships with Canadian Football League Montreal Alouettes and Canadian soccer club CF Montreal while Matthews is regularly engaging in charities and other social activities outside of his professional player duties.

The player of the Maple Leaves is following in the footsteps of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, who became a brand ambassador of another sports betting and gaming brand, BetMGM, last June.

BetMGM, which is usually among the first to launch operations in jurisdictions that legalize online sports betting or online casino games, is expected to receive its iGaming license in Ontario shortly.